View full sizePhoto by Heidi Hoffman for Pacific UniversityTommy Thayer, lead guitarist for the legendary rock group KISS, is introduced Sunday at the Pacific University Legends Golf Classic at the Tiger Woods Center at Nike World Headquarters. Thayer, a member of Pacific's Board of Trustees, has hosted the event for the past five years, turning a small outing into a two-day celebrity tournament.

You know it's going to be a party when the host is a famous guitarist and the guest list includes several of his rock star friends.

"I've had phone calls and emails from people at Division I and Division II schools from all over the country, just asking how to put something like this on," Pacific Athletic Director Ken Schumann said at Monday's tournament.

Not bad for an event that began like many other small schools' charity golf outings: Just a couple of dozen Pacific sports supporters swinging clubs to support the athletic department.

Enter KISS lead guitarist Tommy Thayer, a Beaverton native who serves on Pacific's board of trustees, and the smalltime fundraiser became a place to see, be seen, and party like a rock star.

"It just kind of makes you feel special when you're going to spend money on a cause," said Marshal Burgess, 38, of Portland, who gushed about his dinner with actor Clint Howard the night before.

The backstory goes like this: Schumann invited Thayer, then a new trustee, to participate in that year's the golf outing. Thayer accepted, but on one condition.

"I said of course I would, but I want to make it a really top-notch event," Thayer said as he prepared to tee off Monday.

Luckily, Thayer's address book is filled with other celebrity musicians and pro golfers he's met through the pro-am circuit. He called up a few friends, asked them to join, and soon the small fundraiser earned the title of "celebrity golf outing."

Pacific earned $75,000 in Thayer's first year at the golf outing. This year, Schumann expects the event to net at least $180,000, with 160 people paying top dollar to hit balls with their music and sports idols.

For many, the tournament itself wasn't the highlight. It was the night before, when guests bid on auction items including a KISS-themed Mini Cooper or a long weekend at Thayer's vacation home on Cannon Beach.

Then, Thayer and his brigade of special guests such as Darius Rucker and Clint Black rocked out for hours in a private concert. Thayer called it a "magical jam session."

Thayer was there, dressed in golf gear with a studded black belt and long, shaggy hair for the appropriate rocker edge. So was Johnny Lee, covered in head-to-toe green with dollar bills on his pants. The Doors' guitarist Robby Krieger practiced his swing in psychedelic multicolored trousers that could have come straight out of the band's heyday.

"It's known as a golf event, but really it's an entertainment event," he said. "The thing that's unique and special about what we do is our party and concert."

But it's not all about the party. The money earned at Legends will cover various expenses for Pacific's 21-sport athletic program. About $80,000 will pay to install a turf practice field inside the university's Stoller Center fieldhouse.